Family Composition

Children who grow up in a two-parent household have a lower incidence of behavioral, emotional, and academic problems than their peers living with only one parent, a study concludes.

Based on a subset of data from the 1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health—a national survey of 90,000 students ages 12 to 18 sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development—the study found that youths who lived with one parent were more likely to repeat grades, be suspended from school, smoke, engage in violent behavior, attempt suicide, and receive counseling or therapy. For example, 30 percent of students who lived with one parent reported having repeated a grade, while 19 percent of students who lived with two parents reported the same.